Rumor: Arkane Studios To Restart Work On Prey 2

The development saga of Prey 2 has been a comedy of errors on the scale of Duke Nukem Forever and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. The title was officially announced in March 2011, but since then, none of the news coming out of developer Human Head Studios has been particularly pleasant.

The original Prey, developed by Human Head and published by 2K Games, was innovative in its manipulation of gravity and use of portals (before GladOS ever came on the scene). The sequel was slated to star a new protagonist

Today brings a new rumor that could mean a new start for the beleaguered alien-invasion shooter. Kotaku is reporting a rumor from a vetted source (and echoed by fan site Alien Noire) that Arkane studios has reluctantly started work on Prey 2 from the ground up.

Last April, we reported that the title had possibly been canceled, followed by confirmation from new publisher Bethesda that it had been indefinitely delayed. According to Kotaku, which has a source close to the project, Arkane will be modeling its work after System Shock (also an influence for last year's hit, Dishonored). According to the source, this follows the game briefly being in the hands of Fallout: New Vegas and South Park: The Stick of Truth developer Obsidian.

Arkane has two locations, one in Austin, Texas, and the other in Lyon, France, and Dishonored co-creator Harvey Smith has recently moved to the European branch. Whether the two are connected is unknown, and Bethesda isn't saying.

When asked for comment, the publisher told us, "We don't have any new info to share on Prey 2. We don't comment on rumors."